33 First Avenue | Block : 444 | Lot #42

Building Date : 1870; 1937 & 1990 (alt's)
Original Use : Unknown

Original Owner : Allen Hay
Original Architect : Kinkel & Klemley (1870)

Description & Building Alterations

This structure was originally a five-story tenement building built in 1870 and the owner was Allan Hay, according to the tax records. The Allan Hay & Co. Soap & Candle Factory was on the lots along First Avenue to the north of this structure, as seen on the 1862 Perris map. The upper stories were removed from the 1870 tenement and the height was changed to 15′ in 1937, modifying the building into one story. The second story addition was erected in 1990.

Block : 444 / Lot : 042 / Building Date : 1870; 1937 & 1990 (alt’s) / Original Owner : Allen Hay / Original Use : Unknown / Original Architect : Kinkel & Klemley (1870)

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What is the Building Blocks Project

What does a building mean to someone who lives there? A person who lives on the block? In the neighborhood? In the city? This site presents a wealth of historic information gained from GVSHP’s architectural research survey about the buildings located in the East Village.

The site explores the area generally considered today as the East Village: from a northern border of 14th Street to a southern border of Houston Street, Avenue D in the east to 4th Avenue/the Bowery to the west. You can explore the information about the blocks and buildings featured here in two ways.

Pick a block. Maybe it’s yours, or perhaps it is just your favorite place to shop, grab a bite, or just people watch. Then explore the buildings that make up that block. Or take one of the many guided tours on the site, curated by a collection of organizations and experts from the neighborhood. See how they experience the neighborhood. Then tell us what the neighborhood means to you. The site’s comments section allows you to open a dialogue with others who feel just as passionately as you do about the East Village.